Attention when moving

I can get attention from Kaia for DAYS when we're stationary. However, when we start moving, all bets are off.

This is something I am just now starting to work on her with, but what are your best tips/suggestions/advice to get lovely focus when in motion, at heel?

TYIA.

Premack principle....there used to be a great video on youtube, but it got taken down. It was for fence fighting, but translated really well to focus on walks.

I think this one is the second best. The trainer isn't doing a great job handling the dog at all, but at least the video explains the concept: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RFPkvpuklA

You can reward her with a few minutes of sniffing on loose lead for the time she spends healing. You can either teach a solid watch me command first, or just heavily reward her for focusing on you. Here's another video that is of an actual walk using the premack principle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_rURgm7FG8

Are you looking for a focused heel?

Me me, I am!

I need help 'finishing'...'cleaning up' heel. I think I'm getting what I'm paying for from drop in obedience classes. I think maybe some 'watch me' work...some platform work to get a tighter finish and lined up...I dunno. Luring in heel, seems like they are paying more attention to the treat and not necessarily what they are doing at the time.

Well, yes. Eventually.

Right now, I just want a focused LLW (or a LLW at all, but that's another battle I can't win).

Focused heeling starts with one step. Kastle's was lured and I'm quite happy with it. He's also extremely food and toy driven and faded the lure fine.

For LLW, I use back aways and engagement marker training.

I don't know what back aways and engagement marker training are, can you please explain?

I am trying to take it one step at a time with her, but clearly I am doing something wrong wrong wrong.

Pip just gave attention naturally when he was learning to heel. And I never really taught Maisy to heel well, so... with Squash I started by click/treating one step at a time - literally, one physical step with attention at a time - and gradually shot for more in a row. Very gradually, with lots of practice. Lots of practice. So much practice.

To get his attention... sometimes I lured, sometimes I carry a squeaky toy and let him have it after a few successful steps, sometimes I just talk to him - and I'm pretty sure there are certain phrases that have evolved into cues over time. And *I* try to maintain attention to *him* as well, which seems to keep him engaged.

And a LOT of premack with distractions on the ground - practicing just out of reach of, say, a new toy on the ground and then he gets to have the toy only after a few successful passes by it. He's really, really nosy and something as simple as a piece of paper on the ground over in the corner can distract him for an entire rally course. Premack has been the most successful with polishing his attention for that kind of OMG WHAT IS THAT THING OVER THERE I MUST SEE IT stuff. It's still our biggest challenge, though, along with novel environments.

Also, his attention while heeling seemed to REALLY take off when I started doing Rally, and especially when I taught him to back up in heel position. I think partially just because he learned he needs to pay attention because otherwise he never really knew what we were going to do, and partially because he really, really loves to back up... sometimes I actually even use backing up or spinning in a backwards circle as a "reward" for a string of nice heeling which sounds crazy but he loves it so much that hey, why not.